


Spring Break

by MamaBear7319



Series: The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [18]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:15:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319
Summary: A spring break trip for a job well done, the boys’ spring break trip ends up being more than what they expected.
Series: The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934734
Comments: 12
Kudos: 8





	1. Job Well Done

"Iceman, check the door to your right." Clint, Bobby, and Johnny were clearing the exterior perimeter. The infiltration team consisted of Steve, Bucky, and Peter with Nat and Wyatt as the secondary team. Iron Man and War Machine were on aerial while Sam and Davis covered their egress.

Bobby still marveled that he had a functioning earpiece that didn't ice over. Stark tech was awesome. He moved to his right and iced the handle to break the lock. Opening it he quickly scanned the room. "Clear."

The intel on the location of one of the escapees had come out on Thursday. Plan in place, the boys were sitting in a briefing by 5pm Friday night. The facility that their target was holed up in was moderately defended and their target was bio enhanced. Peter had come across bio-enhanced individuals a couple times before but the rest of his team hadn't. No one quite understood why you would voluntarily replace functional parts of your body.

Proceeding to the infiltration, Peter followed Steve through the door. "Watch the upper levels. FRIDAY's picking up some readings. Could be our guy." Tony's voice rang through everyone's coms. Peter glanced up. Karen wasn't picking anything up yet. "Karen, narrow beam scan floor two." He watched the readings come across his HUD. "I've got movement on the second floor."

"Ok, Spidey. Check it out but take Nat with you. Wyatt, you're with us." Steve kept moving forward with Bucky. Peter scaled the wall next to the stairs leading up to the next level. He scanned the landing and hallways before dropping down lightly on the floor. He felt Nat crouch down behind him. Karen lit up three dots in a room at the far end. Muting his mask he spoke, "Nat, three in the room at the far end. I'll go high, you go low."

"You want backup?" Steve's voice rang through the coms.

Peter glanced back at Natasha who shook her head. "No. We're good." They proceeded down the hall, pausing only slightly when they heard gunfire below. When they were closer to the door, Peter flipped up to the ceiling. Webbing the handle he opened it from above allowing himself and Natasha to stay out of the line of fire from the barrage of weapons fire that exploded from the room. The moment there was a break in the fire, Peter lowered himself just enough to fire webs at two of the three in the room before darting back up out of the line of fire. Except this time it was an electrical burst. "I don't remember any intel on electrical burst weapons. It's our target firing, I got the other two."

Natasha fired two taser discs from her gauntlets and rolled out of the way of the next burst. "Someone got an upgrade." She had been able to catch a glimpse of their target when she fired the taser discs. When originally captured his bio-enhancements just included some cybernetic limbs. Apparently now his cybernetics shot electrical bursts.

"Hey Torch, want to come give us an assist?" Peter had darted down again in an attempt to hit their target only to get hit in the shoulder with an electrical burst. The dampeners in his suit had absorbed it but it still stung a little. He felt the temperature change and he scampered to the side as Johnny landed in front of the door taking a full blast of the next electrical burst. Able to absorb the burst he simply walked into the room and grabbed the targets’ cybernetic arm, scorching the mechanism, bending it back and forcing him to the ground. "Are you done?" Johnny looked down at the target target who was nodding furiously. Natasha and Spider-Man walked up next to him.

"He's done." Natasha hit him with a taser disc to knock him out. "Target captured." Natasha announced to the team. The remnants of gunfire echoed for another minute before all hostile targets were neutralized. The boys headed to Quinjet 1 with Clint, Wanda, Vision, and Bucky so they weren't around when SHIELD showed up to retrieve their escapee. They'd spend the night at the compound, debrief in the morning, then head back to school the next day. At this point, Tony just kept one of the jets at the regional airport north of Cambridge. Peter had gotten his pilots license so it just made traveling between school and the compound so much easier.

The flight back was brief and the boys were unloaded and asleep before the rest of the team made it back. They were also up before 7am preparing for the briefing. When they walked into the command center it was obvious Steve and Natasha had been up all night. Tony was nursing a cup of coffee. Peter slid into a chair next to his dad and the rest of the teams filtered in.

"Anything happen after we left?" Peter swiveled in his chair to face his dad.

"No, SHIELD just took their time getting there so we had time to go through some computer files that were there which started a little research project when we got back." Tony took another sip of coffee and nodded toward Steve.

"Successful capture last night but more importantly we gained a little bit of intel while waiting on SHIELD." Steve threw an image onto the screen.” As some of you experienced first hand, our target had gotten some cybernetic upgrades since breaking out. Up until now the main person supplying bio-enhancements has been a 'Fixer' operating out of the New York area. He's gone by the name "Mr. Fix" and "Techno" but his real name is Paul Norbert Ebersol. SHIELD has had him under surveillance for a while. Our target had not made a visit to him which means there's a new player on the field. SHIELD is analyzing the tech. Most cybernetics work like Bucky's...they're tied directly into the nervous system and function like a real limb. This one was different." He put another picture up on the screen showing the back of the target from last night. "This one was tied directly into the brain stem. It's a lot more complicated and all evidence points to the idea that our fixer came to the target which means he's mobile."

Clint leaned forward. "Biology lesson aside, why do we care?"

Davis spoke up first. "Because if you're tying into the brain stem not only is it a level of technology that isn't supposed to exist but it also opens the door for control to be taken by an external source." His focus at school was biotech. By all accounts this technology should have been years off from being functional.

Steve nodded. "Controlling another person is something various factions have been playing around with for years. It looks like someone has possibly figured it out."

Sam looked at the picture of their target on the screen. "But this guy wasn't being controlled last night was he?"

Natasha shook her head. "We don't think so. But, it makes us want to know who upgraded him."

xxxxxxxxxx

Davis hung back to talk to Steve about potential biotech leads. The rest of the team went to grab their bags to head back to Boston. Tony grabbed Peter, stopping him from heading upstairs with everyone else. "So I was thinking...Pepper and I have to go the SI annual board meeting the week you have Spring Break."

Peter hadn't even thought that far ahead, although Spring Break was less than a month away. "You want me to watch Morgan?"

Tony frowned. "Well, no. Although I kind of wish I'd thought of that. We're taking her with us."

"Seriously? Why?" Peter couldn't imagine Morgan going to Hong Kong for a week. Tony could barely make it through a board meeting. Maybe he was planning on using Morgan as his excuse to escape.

"Pepper. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to take everyone out to California for the week. You could stay at the house. Ned could come down and the girls could go with you."

"You'd let us stay at Pepper's Malibu house for a week, by ourselves, with girls." Peter looked at his dad skeptically.

"Ok...well, Pepper's houses became my houses when we got married so stop calling it 'Pepper's house'. And you're all old enough not to do something stupid. Most kids your age are heading to a beach for a week and doing way worse. The house is secure so you don't have to worry about the press or anything else. What do you think?"

"I think that's an awesome idea. Thanks dad!" A week away would be great. He was pretty sure everyone would be on board.

Tony grinned, "Yeah. Just don't make me regret this."

xxxxxxxxxx

Three weeks later all five boys were on the jet with MJ and Jennifer headed towards California. Peter looked over at MJ who was in the co-pilot seat. FRIDAY was capable of taking off, flying, and landing but it tended to freak out air traffic control if there was no one in the cockpit so Peter handled take offs and landings. They had just left New Jersey's regional airport's airspace so Peter pulled the headphones off. "Ned's Spring Break isn't until the following week so he won't be able to hang out the whole time but he thought he could swing a couple nights."

"It'll be good to see Ned. I've emailed and texted him off an don since he left. He seems really happy out there, sounds like he's got a good group of friends that are all in the computer department." MJ tucked a leg up in the seat and looked out the window. The view was amazing but they were about to lose it in the clouds.

Peter frowned. He hadn't texted or emailed Ned nearly enough. He should have been better about staying in touch. "Yeah, I can't wait to see him. I hope he's staying out of trouble. I think his roommate is one of the boys from that coding camp. He talked about him some over Winter Break." He glanced back at the group in the cabin of the jet. "Think Jennifer's doing ok or do we need to go rescue her?"

MJ shook her head. "Jennifer can more than handle the guys. Plus Wyatt's there...I don't think you realize how much they talk."

Peter shrugged. "Wyatt's a good guy. Other than the foot height difference between them they make a cute couple."

MJ reached over and playfully slapped him on the arm. "You have zero room to talk about any one's height." She smirked when he acted wounded. "So why don't you like the guy from the coding camp?"

"Ned didn't let that one leak?" Peter smiled at MJ's confused look. "He must be better at keeping secrets than I thought. The coding camp was a cover for some maniac's attempt to take over the would via computers. We had to rescue him. Full Avenger op. Even SHIELD showed up. That wasn't the bad part. A couple of the boys figured out what was going on and one of them uploaded a worm that Steve, Nat, and I had to go disarm. The one and only time I've worn something other than a Spider-Man suit. It was eating everything with technology or metal which is..."

"Which is your entire suit." MJ smirked.

Peter smiled. He was discovering that he liked taking to MJ about some of this stuff. The really bad stuff was still a work in progress and was definitely going to take time. But the rest of it...it was nice to have someone else in his life he could talk to. "Yep. I had so much Kevlar on I almost couldn't move. Which turned out to be a good thing. As a defensive measure it lowered the temperature. I was cold for a week."

Both of them turned around when Johnny poked his head up. "How long is our flight?"

"A little under 4 hours. Aren't you glad you're not flying commercial? This thing moves a little faster." Peter twisted fully around in his seat. "Everyone doing ok?"

Johnny nodded. "Did Tony say if there's beach access? Davis and I may run out to one of my storage units and grab some surf boards." He had spent a lot of time in California. Sue and Reed had a house out there which is where they lived prior to relocating to New York.

Peter shrugged. "All I know is that it's a house in Malibu. Dad said he had them leave two cars in the hanger so we won't have to squeeze into one."

Johnny shook his head. "I still can't believe he's letting us do this. Who in their right mind trusts this many 18 year olds in a house in Malibu unsupervised."

MJ laughed. "Good thing we're all responsible adults who won't do anything stupid. Plus, I think it's a reward for a job well done. I heard you all did good on that last mission."

Johnny shrugged, "All in a day's work I guess."


	2. California

The flight to California was easy. While the boys were taking care of the plane, MJ wandered through the hanger. "Found the cars!" She grinned as she walked over to the convertible Audi that was parked next to an SUV. She reached into the drivers seat and picked up the keys and a note addressed to Peter.

_"Don't do anything I would do, and don't do anything I wouldn't do. There's a little grey area in there. That's where you operate. Have fun kid!"_

She felt Peter walk up behind her. "This is clearly an inside joke."

Peter read the note over her shoulder and smiled. "It's what he said to me after we got back from Germany."

She held the keys out to him. "We're claiming this car. I've never ridden in a convertible before."

Peter took the keys, then put their bags in the trunk. He turned around and looked at the others. Johnny was arranging all of the luggage in the back of the SUV. "Wyatt?" Peter gestured to the black duffel bag Johnny was shoving into the back.

"What? You never know. I keep it on the plane. No reason not to just take it with us." Wyatt patted the bag as Johnny slid it into the back. The bag contained most of their ops gear, which really consisted of mainly Wyatt's and Davis's gear since the rest of them were pretty much self contained.

Peter shook his head and lowered his voice to a hushed whisper. "Whatever. Just don't let Jennifer go through it. It'll be a miracle if we make it through this week without her finding out something."

Johnny shut the back of the SUV. "You worry too much."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Address is programmed into the GPS. Don't wreck the car. We're going to go see Ned first. See you at the house." He headed back over to the convertible and slid behind the steering wheel. He looked over at MJ who was already in her seat. "Ready?"

Peter followed the SUV out of the hanger. Pasadena wasn't too far from the airport or Malibu and when they had talked to Ned he had said he had a study group tonight but had begged them to swing by before. Then they could make plans for the rest of the week.

MJ was incredibly thankful she had worn her hair up. Other than dealing with the wind the convertible was enjoyable. Peter loved driving the convertible. It was like swinging without the mask on but without the free fall. They were in Pasadena and wandering around the campus looking for the building Ned had told them to meet him at within the hour. Peter pulled open the door and followed MJ inside the building they thought was the correct one. After wandering in and out of several labs they finally located Ned.

"I can't believe you're here!" Ned crushed them both in a bear hug.

Peter frowned when he finally pulled back. "Ned, you look bad." MJ swatted his arm. "He's got bags under his eyes."

Ned shook his head. "We have a project due at the end of this week that's kicking our tails."

MJ looked at the screen and table behind him. "What's it on?"

Ned scrubbed his hand over his face. "Computer interface."

Peter frowned. "You can do that in your sleep."

"It's an interface with an organic component." Ned glanced back at the screen. "We're close."

"Ned...do not make another technovore." Peter crossed his arms and studied the screen behind Ned. He didn't recognize any of the code which he was taking as a good sign...maybe.

"We're not, although that's where we got the idea." Ned glanced over Peter's shoulder.

Still studying the screen, Peter asked, "We?"

"Basil Sandhurst. You must be Peter and MJ."

Peter was surprised he didn't end up on the ceiling. Since the spider bite no one had been able to enter a room without him knowing it and certainly not walk up behind him. Spinning around he fought the urge to assume a fighting stance. He wasn't sure if he was successful or not.

MJ looked over at Peter before smiling at Basil. "Yes." She reached down and grabbed Peter's hand. She could feel the tension in it. “What time is your study group?" She glanced over at Ned who looked down at his watch.

"In ten minutes. What do you all have planned this week?"

"Absolutely nothing. We should meet for dinner or maybe you can just come out to the house? When are you free?" Peter looked away from Basil and focused on Ned.

"That will depend on the project. Maybe Monday night?" Ned thought through his schedule as he gathered his books up.

Peter watched Ned cram his books into his backpack. "Yeah. We can come to you if it's easier."

Ned wrapped them both in another bear hug. "It's good to see you guys. I'll text you when I get freed up." Ned walked out with Basil leaving MJ and Peter standing in the empty lab. "That was weird, right?" Peter looked over at MJ who was frowning.

"I'm sure he's just busy." Forcing a smile on her face she grabbed his hand again. "Let's go see the house."

xxxxxxxxxx

Peter and MJ followed the GPS and pulled up to Pepper's house. It was about the size of the one in Hawaii. Parking in the front, Peter carried their bags in. Johnny, Davis, and Bobby had left to get surfboards out of Johnny's storage unit and got back about the same time as Peter and MJ. Tony had made sure the kitchen was stocked so they decided to grill out for dinner.

After dinner Johnny and Davis couldn't wait to hit the water. There was a storm brewing off the coast so the waves were actually pretty good. Bobby went down to the beach with them. He had never surfed but Johnny and Davis both assured him that they'd have him up on a board by the end the week. Wyatt and Jennifer were walking on the beach which left Peter and MJ sitting on the balcony overlooking the beach. "So what was that about earlier in the lab? I thought you were going attack Basil."

Peter looked over at MJ. "I didn't know he was there." He could tell she didn't know the significance of the statement. "Ever since getting bitten I always know when someone's near. I didn't." Peter frowned. "I should have, but I didn't."

MJ frowned. "What does that mean?"

Peter shrugged. "I have no idea. I have no idea how it works. All I know is that it ramps up when there's danger." Peter thought about it. "But I don't think it means there wasn't any danger. I don't like the guy."

MJ but her lip as she thought about the problem. "There was a lot of electrical equipment in there. Is it possible it was somehow interfering?"

Peter frowned. He hadn't thought that anything could interfere with it. It was a disturbing thought.

xxxxxxxxxx

Monday afternoon arrived with no response from Ned. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Bobby had gotten up on a surfboard earlier that day and found that he loved surfing. It wasn't that different from sliding on the ice ramps he could form. Both required a certain amount of balance. Peter couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong but he didn't know what to do about it. He finally got a text from Ned apologizing for not responding and said they had a breakthrough in the lab and had been tied up all day and maybe they could meet up Wednesday. It was enough to keep Peter from sleeping and after lying there staring at the ceiling he got up, got dressed, and silently made his way into the kitchen. Grabbing the keys to the SUV he was about to leave when Johnny walked into the room.

"Where are you going...at 2am." Johnny blinked again the clock on the microwave.

Peter sighed, ready to defend his idea. "I'm going to break into the lab and see if I can figure out what's going on with Ned."

"Give me two minutes and I'll go with you." Johnny turned to go back to his room to change, leaving Peter staring after him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Peter parked a ways from the lab building. They could go the rest of the way on foot to avoid anyone seeing their car close to the lab building. Making their way there Peter found the main door open and realized there were probably people in the labs at all hours. He hoped there was no one in the lab Ned and Basil were using. Seeing no one around, they made their way to the room Peter had been in before. Taking the darkness as a good sign they entered and looked around.

"What are you looking for?" Johnny asked as he looked through files on a table.

"I don't know. Something that tells me what they're up to. Something is off." Peter flipped through a stack of files. It was a lot of notes and comments with initials. The NL was obviously Ned, BS was Basil. There was a third one he didn't recognize - ZS.

"Maybe Ned is just different than he was in high school. I mean, none of us are the same as we were a year ago." Johnny picked up a piece of equipment to inspect it.

Peter wondered if Johnny was right. He and Ned had been so close before and now they barely talked. Things had just changed. They were both busy with school and life on opposite sides of the county. He looked up when he heard a "huh..."

"Or maybe they're tied in with our new fixer and are working on the controller interface for the bio tech." Johnny frowned as he looked at the piece of equipment in his hands.

"What?" Peter our down the file and walked over to stand next to Johnny and look at the equipment.

"Most mechanics and engineers have a signature. They use the same kind of materials, put stuff together that same way." Johnny looked over at Peter. "When I grabbed that guy's arm it was put together a lot like this. Look at the connection." He pointed to a series of wires. "That's not how most people would do this."

Peter stared at the piece of equipment in Johnny's hands. He was right. Thinking back to how he put stuff together, it was slightly different from the way his dad did. He looked back at the door when he heard a noise in the hall. "Ok. Let's dig into Basil and see what we can find out."


	3. Ned

MJ sat down next to Peter on the couch, coffee mug in hand. "Where did you go last night? I'm assuming it's why you're working."

Peter chuckled. If she hadn't had coffee in her hands she definitely would have put air quotes around 'working'. He turned off the tablet he had been looking at and put it on the table in front of him. "Johnny and I checked out the lab." He shifted on the sofa to look at her. "The tech that they're using is disturbingly similar to some tech we came across a couple weeks ago. I've been trying to see what I can come up with on both the tech and Basil."

MJ took a sip of coffee. "Any luck?"

Peter shook his head. "No. Basil has less of an internet presence than you do, which seems weird for a computer guy. And the tech is still unknown."

"So what are you going to do?"

Peter looked down at his lap. "I don't know. I mean I need to talk to Ned and see if I can find out what's going on." He picked up his phone. "I texted him this morning to see if we could get together sometime today and I haven't heard back."

MJ took a sip of coffee. "Ok. So if you don't hear from him we'll track him down."

Peter shook his head. "There's no 'we' in this. Until I know what's going on you're not coming with me." He looked over at her. "It's non negotiable. Being in the boxes is one thing. Going somewhere potentially dangerous is out." His eyes softened a little. "Please don't fight me on this. It's bad enough Ned is potentially messed up in this. I don't want you in it too."

MJ studied Peter. He was trying. "Ok as long as you keep me informed. He's my friend too. And, you don't go anywhere by yourself. Take Bobby with you if you go see him. He at least knows Ned so it won't be weird."

To Peter's surprise, Ned texted him back a couple hours later. They arranged to meet at a sandwich place in Pasadena. Keeping his word to MJ, he brought Bobby with him which meant explaining what he and Johnny had done last night.

"I can't believe Ned would be mixed up in this." Bobby commented as Peter pulled into the parking lot of the sandwich place. "He's a really good guy."

Peter nodded, turning off the engine. "He is. I think sometimes he gets into things without knowing all of the pieces." He still wasn't sure how he was going to broach the subject. He really didn't want to start lunch with 'so Ned, I broke into your lab last night and I think you're mixed up with some bad guys'. Hopefully something would come to him during lunch.

Ned arrived a few minutes after they did. "Hey guys! How's hanging out at the beach?"

"It's great! I'm learning to surf. It's almost as fun as snorkeling in Hawaii." Bobby greeted Ned with a hug. "You need to come out for the day."

"I wish. If we can get this project wrapped up maybe I can make Friday." Ned ordered his food after the other two.

"So tell me about the project. You said organic interface. What does that mean?" Peter sat down at an empty table, Ned and Bobby sitting across from him.

Ned thought about how to answer the question. "You know how Tony can control the nanotech armor but Rhodey can't? This is something that could bridge the gap for everyone who doesn't have a brain that can do it on its own."

Peter thought through the process. "What's the ultimate application?"

Ned shrugged. "I think it's more about seeing if we can do it. From there the application could be endless. Everything from military application to prosthetic application."

"How on earth are you controlling it." Bobby was reaching the limit of his knowledge in the area. His major was strictly mathematics. He could probably work the math behind it but not the interface and definitely not the biologic side. But, if he asked questions it would seem less like Peter was grilling Ned.

"It's tied into the brain stem." Ned took a bite of his sandwich. "It's a little complex. Basil is good with organics though."

Peter stared at his sandwich. Brain stem interface. That's exactly what the new fixer was doing. He frowned and looked up. "Won't that allow for the possibility of someone else to take control?"

Ned shrugged. "I've got a bunch of code built in that won't allow that to happen."

"But it could be overridden." Peter couldn't help himself. This was pretty much a nightmare scenario for him. With his abilities, if someone else took control there's no end to the damage he could do.

Ned looked at Peter. "Why is this bothering you so much."

"Ned, you know why it's bothering me." Peter was frustrated that Ned didn't see the danger in what he was doing.

Bobby looked between the two. "Both of you cool it." He looked at Ned. "Just be careful and make sure you have enough controls in place." He grinned to break the tension. "You're smart enough when it comes to computers that you have it handled, right?"

Ned shifted his eyes from Peter to Bobby. "I'm not doing anything nefarious. The goal is to give people with prosthetics more control."

"See Peter. Nothing nefarious." Bobby refrained from kicking Peter under the table.

Peter forced a smile. "Ned, I know you have good intentions. The idea of somebody controlling someone else just freaks me out a little. Sorry."

Ned forced a smile on his face too. "I know. Sorry I'm edgy. The last couple weeks have been pretty rough."

"So even if you aren't done, we're planning on coming to kidnap you on Friday and you're spending the day at the beach with us." Bobby picked up his drink and took a sip.

Ned finished his sandwich. "That sounds like a plan. Which means I probably need to go back to the lab and see if I can finish up." He stood up and waited for Peter and Bobby to stand up. He gave Bobby a quick hug. Then looked at Peter. "I promise I'm not doing anything."

Peter leaned over and hugged him. "I know. I miss you Ned." He let go. "We're serious about kidnapping you Friday."

Ned smiled and nodded. "I'll see you Friday then."

Bobby and Peter watched him walk out of the sandwich shop then followed, climbing into the SUV. Bobby glanced over at Peter. "Well?"

"Whatever this is he's not doing it on purpose but he is more stressed than I've seen him." Peter pulled out of the parking space and merged into traffic. Both he and Bobby missed the dark colored car parked a couple spaces down from them.

"We may have a problem." Basil spoke into his cell phone.

"We knew it was risky using him but you couldn't find anyone else with the same skill set." The voice on the other end was cold.

"I think they know what's going on. If they were involved when the Avengers picked up our friend then they know too much." Basil had known using Ned was risky but with the expectation put on him he hadn't had another option.

"Just finish the project. If he's an obstacle then neutralize him. You have the information you need. All I care about is delivery."


	4. Date Night

Peter couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. After being on edge all day after seeing Ned he called Steve that night and filled him in. "I need you to find everything you can on Basil Sandhurst."

"Isn't that the kid from the computer camp? The one that created that mess with Technovore?" Steve was already typing the name into the computer.

Natasha leaned over his shoulder and switched the call over to speaker. "Do you want me to come to California? You're supposed to be on vacation."

"Nat, do not come to California. I just want to find out about this guy. Oh, and let me know if you come across anyone with the initials ZS connected to him. They were in the lab notes." Peter looked up when Wyatt walked in. He waited to speak again once he was sure Jennifer wasn't with him. "I'll let you know if we come across anything else."

"Peter, have you told Tony what's going on?" Steve asked, already knowing that he hadn't called Tony.

"I am not calling him about this. It could end up being nothing but you know the second I call he's on a jet to California." Peter turned and looked at Wyatt who was chuckling. "Let me know what you find."

Wyatt waited for Peter to hang up. "Your dad would just take the armor. He wouldn't even bother with the plane."

Peter knew Wyatt was probably right which is why he hadn't called his dad. He was about 85% sure Nat and Steve wouldn't call either. "Where is everyone."

"Watching a movie. It started raining so we opted to come in." Wyatt looked at Peter. So far he had spent most of the week wrapped up in the mess with Ned. "You're going to need a vacation from your vacation. Let it go for right now and go cuddle with MJ on the couch. It'll do you some good."

Peter sighed and followed Wyatt back into the living room. Squeezing next to MJ he propped his feet up on the coffee table and let her lean against him. He realized about 30 minutes into the movie he had no idea what they were watching nor did he know what was going on. His tablet was sitting on the table behind the sofa just out of reach. Making sure Jennifer wasn't looking in his direction he formed the web shooter, flicked a web onto the tablet and pulled it towards him. He grinned at MJ when she glared over her should at him. She adjusted enough so he could hold the tablet behind her and read. Soon he was logged into a SHIELD database Nat had gotten him into, reading what he could about Basil Sandhursts' 'known associates'. He was a little surprised to see Ned listed. Basil had been under SHIELD surveillance since the computer camp incident. SHEILD had several levels of surveillance. Basil was being observed at the lowest level. Just enough to know where he was.

The lack of information was frustrating at best. He texted Ned a couple times the next day just to check on him. He purposely didn't say a word about the project. Nat and Steve hadn't really found anything yet either. Around lunch, Ned texted him telling him they had been able to finish the project and were just testing now so he might be able to spend both Thursday and Friday with them. Ned sounded almost normal again which made Peter feel extraordinarily better.

"So now you can let this go for the night, right?" Wyatt looked at him from in front of the refrigerator where he was pulling out sandwich stuff for lunch. "Johnny, Davis, and Bobby want to go out tonight to some club they found. You would hate it so we thought maybe you, MJ and Jennifer and I could go out to eat. You know...like an actual double date."

Peter looked over at MJ who was sitting at the table talking to Jennifer. She had been incredibly patient and understanding the whole week. Fancy dinners weren't necessarily her thing but an idea popped into his head of something she would love. "Ok, but before dinner I want to take MJ to this thing I saw earlier." Peter sat down next to MJ. "Want to go do a walking tour of famous Hollywood murders? There's a whole part on the Black Dahlia murder. Then we could go have dinner with Wyatt and Jennifer."

MJ grinned. "That sounds great!" She looked over at Jennifer. "Murder tour. Are you in?"

Jennifer smiled. "Of course!"

xxxxxxxxxx

Peter and Wyatt didn't hate the murder tour. If Peter were honest, he probably liked MJ enjoying the tour way more than he liked the tour itself which was all that really mattered in his mind. Wyatt had found a low key but nice restaurant for dinner, which was surprisingly enjoyable. He and MJ hadn't been out on an actual date since getting back together. For the first time in a really long time he felt like a normal 18 year old.

Leaving the restaurant they headed towards the SUV. Rounding the corner to the parking lot Peter stopped short. "Ned?" Peter was surprised to see his friend but the vacant look on Ned's face caused him to tense up. His Spidey sense definitely should have been going off. But it wasn't. Just like when Basil surprised him in the lab. He missed Ned pressing his hand against his chest until it was too late. His body convulsed and he collapsed as Ned triggered the handheld taser.

Wyatt hadn't missed the three men with Ned but it all happened so fast all he could do was push Ned to the ground and away from Peter but the damage was already done. He barely had time to register his friends completely still body before he found himself in the middle of a fight. He was gaining the upper hand on two of the men until the third man caught his attention. He had a gun pointed at Peter's head. MJ was on the ground next to Peter and Jennifer was next to her. Then he felt a tremendous amount of pain in his head before blacking out


	5. Options

Wyatt woke up with a miserable pounding in his head. He blinked to try to clear the fog but was met with a sharp pain. He let out a groan in response.

"Wyatt?"

He tried to look in the direction of the voice. "Jen? What...Peter!" He tried to sit up as the memory of Peter lying crumpled on the ground came rushing back only to be hit with an overwhelming waive of nausea.

Jennifer pushed his head back into her lap. "He's still unconscious." She looked over at MJ who was sitting next to Peter with her hands on his chest. Jennifer could see the matching zip tie holding MJ's wrists together. She looked back down at Wyatt. "We're pretty sure you have a concussion. I think I got the bleeding to stop."

He looked between MJ and Jennifer. "Are you two ok?"

MJ and Jennifer both nodded. "We're fine."

Wyatt glanced around the room. "Where are we?"

MJ spoke from across the room. "It feels like some kind of storage room." She glanced up at the window. "Door is obviously locked. Windows have bars."

"How is he?" Wyatt tried to turn his head to look at Peter.

MJ shrugged. "Still unconscious. He hasn't woken up yet but he's still breathing."

Wyatt looked back up at Jennifer. "Help me sit up."

"Are you sure?" Jennifer frowned. Wyatt still looked pretty bad.

"No. But do it anyway." His wrists were similarly zip tied which meant he had to rely way more than he wanted to on Jennifer to maneuver him into a sitting position. "Ok, walk me through what happened." His head still hurt but he slightly less foggy than he was before.

"We were walking out of the restaurant and ran into Peter's friend Ned. He had some kind of taser in his hand and hit Peter in the chest with it." Jennifer looked across at Peter and MJ. Peter hadn't moved since they were shoved into the small room.

"Ned had something on the back of his neck." MJ looked at Wyatt. She hadn't said anything to Jennifer yet but she wasn't sure how they were going to get out of this without her finding out. "I think it was the controller tech you all were looking into. Then you fought off two of them until the third one pointed a gun at Peter's head."

Wyatt nodded. It was starting to come back. He shifted slightly against the wall only to have pain shoot through his head. "How long was I out?"

MJ glanced down at her watch. "A couple hours. It's a little after midnight."

Wyatt looked over at Peter. "Why is he in cuffs instead of zip ties like the rest of us?"

"My guess is they know who he is." MJ reached down and brushed her fingers across them. "I'm pretty sure they're vibranium. I saw some when I was in Africa last summer."

"Great." Wyatt pulled his wrists to test the zip ties. He didn't think he had enough leverage to break them.

Jennifer looked between MJ and Wyatt. "You two owe me a really big explanation when we get out of here."

MJ and Wyatt's response was cut off by the groan coming from Peter. "Peter?" MJ leaned over Peter so she could see if he was waking up.

"I feel like crap." Peter hadn't opened his eyes yet. He could feel MJ leaning over him.

"You got hit with a taser. I think your heart is probably out of rhythm." MJ leaned closer. "Can you open your eyes please?"

Peter opened a single eye and glanced up at MJ. "We do not have a great track record with dates."

MJ let out a laugh and leaned over and pressed her head against Peter's chest. Leaning back up she looked down into both eyes. "What do you need?"

"An IV and a couple days to sleep. I don't think I'm getting either." He glanced around the room. "Wyatt?"

"I'm good."

Jennifer snorted in response. "What? How is this good? You have a concussion. I don't know how Peter isn't dead. This is not good."

Wyatt shifted to look at Jennifer. "We'll be fine. Trust me." He tipped his head forward against her forehead. "Trust me."

Peter tried to move his arms and realized he was handcuffed. He held them up to his face and let out a sigh when he realized he wasn't getting out of them. Reaching down he pulled MJ's wrists up. Inspecting the zip tie he applied a little pressure and snapped it, freeing her wrists. He glanced over at Wyatt. "You two are going to have to come to me. I don't think I can sit up yet." He knew from experience that sitting up would be bad. As long as he stayed flat the dizziness was bearable. Maybe if he gave it a little more time he could manage long enough to get them all out of here.

Jennifer stood up, using the wall to brace herself. After struggling to get Wyatt to his feet and failing she leaned over, "I'll be back in a sec."

She walked over and knelt next to Peter and watched him break the zip tie effortlessly. "How did you do that?"

Peter shrugged and looked up at MJ. "Can you help her get Wyatt over here?"

MJ nodded, stood up and followed Jennifer over to Wyatt. Each grabbing an arm they pulled him to his feet.

"Yeah, I should have just scooted over." Wyatt blinked a couple times trying to clear his vision. Thankfully the room wasn't very large so he quickly slid down the wall and landed next to Peter. Holding out his arms he waited for Peter to snap the zip ties. "Options?"

"I can probably get us out of the room but I'm not going to be overly helpful in a fight." In his current position he really couldn't test his stickiness but based on what happened last time he was pretty sure it was unreliable at best. He scanned the room again. No cameras. He looked over at MJ and Jennifer who had sat down on the other side of him. "Any idea where we are?"

MJ shook her head. "After Wyatt was knocked out they threw us all in the back of a van. No windows. Maybe a 30 minute drive. When we got here they had backed the van up to the building so there wasn't really an opportunity to see much. A couple trees to the right and just building to the left. Hallway from the door to this room passed a couple other rooms. We did have to turn a corner to get here. In addition to the three that grabbed us I saw maybe two or three others."

"You got all of that while being dragged down a hall?" Jennifer turned to stare at her.

Peter smirked. "She's observant." He looked back at MJ. "Ned?"

MJ shook her head again. "After Wyatt pushed him away from you I lost track of him. He wasn't in the van nor did I see him when we got here." She took a deep breath knowing that her comment was going to elicit questions from Jennifer. "I think they used the controller tech on him. He had something on the back of his neck."

Peter pulled up his hands again and looked at his watch. The electricity had fried most of it. He tried to form the web shooter on the other wrist and couldn't make it work. He glanced up at MJ. "I'm assuming you tried the panic button?"

She nodded and smirked. "In the van. It's when I realized it was fried."

Peter looked back over at Wyatt. "I can get us out of the room but I don't know if I want to risk trying to run with the girls. Last time I got hit with electricity Bucky and dad had to carry me to the Quinjet. It doesn't feel as bad this time but I'm still not functioning at 100%." He looked at Wyatt's head and added "Neither are you."

Wyatt nodded in agreement. "Bobby, Johnny, and Davis won't realize anything is wrong until they get home or possibly not even until the morning."

Peter sucked in a breath. "So our options are to wait and see what happens, try to escape, or figure out how to reach the rest of the team."

Wyatt nodded. "I don't like option 1 or 2. Think any of the nanobots are still functioning?"

Jennifer looked at MJ and then at Peter and Wyatt. "What team? What are you taking about?"

Wyatt cringed and looked over at Jennifer. "I promise I will tell you everything when we get out of here."

MJ reached over and grabbed Jennifer's hand. "Let them figure it out, Ok? It'll be fine."

Jennifer stared at MJ. "How are you not freaked out by this? We were kidnapped off the street."

Peter looked up at Jennifer. "This isn't a kidnapping. It'll be ok." He looked back at Wyatt. "Help me try to sit up."

Wyatt reached under his shoulder and helped pull him up. MJ slid next to Peter to give him a little more support. Together they maneuvered him against the wall.

Head spinning Peter pulled his knees up and dropped his head to rest on them. Focusing on breathing he could feel his heart beating in an uneven rhythm. Fighting through it he lifted his head and held his wrists out to MJ. "Can you take my watch off? And the bracelet."

MJ maneuvered the bracelet off and started unfastening the watch. Once it was off she handed them back to Peter.

Peter looked between Wyatt and MJ. "Which of you wants the web-shooter."

"I'm assuming MJ has played with them before? Give it to her."

Peter nodded and handed the bracelet back to MJ. Once it was on her wrist he triggered the manual button, hoping it hadn't gotten fried. The web shooter formed seamlessly across her wrist and hand. MJ had played with the web shooters more than he would probably ever admit to his dad. There had been a 'talk' at one point about how they weren't toys after he and Ned had spun a hammock and a fort in his room at the apartment. Right now he was glad MJ had experience using them. He smiled as she tested it by firing a web, attaching it to the door knob.

"What the hell." Jennifer looked at Peter. "You're Spider-Man?"

"Yes." Peter thought that keeping the answer short was best right now. "Ok, anyone have anything on them that I could potentially use as a screw driver?"

Wyatt and the girls dug through their pockets. Jennifer was the only one with anything close which was a hair pin. She shrugged, "I read too much Nancy Drew as a kid. I always have a hair pin."

Peter leaned his head back and tried to focus on the back of the watch. It had a micro arc reactor in it. It would have survived the electricity. He was hoping there would be a few wires that he could use to basically hot wire something.

MJ reached over and took the hair pin and watch from him. "Neither you nor Wyatt can focus. Tell me what to do."

Peter leaned his head back and closed his eyes, guiding her through taking the watch apart from memory. Once she had the arc reactor and the wiring exposed he leaned forward again and tried to focus on the wires. Instead the dizziness got worse and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Jennifer, hold this." MJ gently placed the watch into Jennifer's palm. "Peter, look at me." She forced his head up and locked eyes with him. "I'm going to pinch your nose and I want you to try to force air through your nose. I know it's weird but I took more biology classes than you did." She reached forward and pinched his nose and watched him make a face trying to follow instructions.

"Holy crap that worked." Peter looked at her and took a deep breath.

MJ shrugged. "It's not going to fix the damage but it'll force your heart back in rhythm. It stimulates a nerve that forces it to synch back up."

Peter leaned forward and looked at the watch housing and wires. Most of them were fried.

"What are you thinking?" Wyatt leaned over and looked at what they had to work with.

"Using the arc reactor to power something long enough to send a message to Johnny. GPS coordinate preferably." The watch had the ability, Peter just needed to isolate the component parts. He started to work on striping out the parts until he had a pile of good wiring and various chips and boards he thought weren't too damaged. Having to pause every couple minutes to breath and force his heart back into rhythm was starting to drain him. He didn't want to know how long it took him but he finally got it wired. He looked over at Wyatt who had his head against the wall and his eyes closed. "What do you think. SOS and GPS coordinates?"

Wyatt nodded without opening his eyes. "If they can't decipher that we need to go through some remedial training."

Peter paused before triggering the signal. "Crap." He held up his hand to keep everyone quiet. He had been trying to listen for voices. Until now they had been too far away to hear clearly.

_”What are we doing with them?"_

_“Kill them. We almost have everything loaded."_

_“What if Parker and the other one are awake?"_

_”Then you'll have to move fast won't you."_

Peter triggered the signal and looked at Wyatt. "We've got to move. Now."


	6. Good Timing

Wyatt and Peter moved incredibly fast considering how injured they were. Moving to the door, Peter listened for movement. Not hearing anyone directly on the other side he turned to look at the girls. "Stay behind us. MJ, if you have an opening fire a web at their feet but do not move from behind me. Do you understand?"

MJ nodded. She understood what Peter was saying. Peter was her shield and she hated it but she knew the alternative would destroy him. She grabbed Jennifer's hand and squeezed.

Peter looked at Wyatt who nodded. Putting pressure on the doorknob Peter broke the mechanism and opened it just enough that he could see out. Seeing no one he opened it further and stepped into the hall. "Stay and let me check it out." He whispered and headed down the hall in the direction MJ had indicated they had entered. Getting to the corner where it turned into the hall they came in through, he pressed his back against the wall. Testing his stickiness he tried to attach a hand to the wall. There was some but it wasn't enough to be reliable. He could hear voices so he knew this way wasn't going to be an option, but he wanted to know what they were up against. Straining to catch his breath he paused long enough to force his heart back in synch before peering around the corner. Six men, all with guns. Great.

Making his way back to the room, he nodded his head toward the other direction. He didn't like that they wouldn't know where they were going but there's no way he and Wyatt could make it through the other way and he didn't know how long it would take the rest of the team to respond. Wyatt moved out in front. Peter kept the girls in front of him putting himself between them and the six men with guns. He really missed the buzz of his Spidey sense right now. He couldn't figure out why it wasn't working but it would have been incredibly helpful in the current situation. He also wished his hands weren't cuffed together but that he could deal with. He could see a turn in the hall ahead. Judging from the sounds behind them he hoped they could get there before the men turned the corner and spotted them.

Wyatt knew they needed to move so he grabbed Jennifer's hand and pulled her along behind him. He knew Peter and MJ would keep up. Rounding the corner he glanced over his shoulder and let out a sigh of relief before continuing on. Peter and MJ had made it around the corner and there hadn't been any sound of alarm. The new hallway looked exactly like the old hallway. His goal was to put as much distance between them and the guys with guns. He could see a branching corridor ahead of him and quickened his pace. Choosing left, he rounded the corner to hear a cry from behind him and the sound of feet running.

"They know we're out." Peter hissed as he pushed MJ around the corner. They all ran down the hall seeing another branching corridor ahead. Wyatt skidded to a stop and stared at the wall. It took a second for Peter to realize what he was doing.

Wyatt stared at the fire escape map. They were in the middle of the building. He quickly plotted out a course and took off again, making a quick right at the next corridor. The girls followed by Peter skidded around the corner. Peter waived them on, hanging back to see if he could gauge where their pursuers were.

Two men appeared at the other end of the hall. Peter waited to see if any more would follow. When they didn't he quietly made his way toward Wyatt and the girls. Trying to force his heart back into synch was getting harder and harder to do but he didn't have much choice other than to press on. He caught up to them at another hallway intersection. "They split up."

Wyatt nodded and continued to lead them through the building. He had seen enough of the map to know that splitting up meant that they could intersect them if they got lucky. He also knew they were two turns away from the hall that would lead them outside so he opted to keep going instead of trying to find somewhere to hide. Approaching the branch in the corridor he slowed down so he could see around the corner. He poked his head out enough to see that two of the men had entered the hall. They had apparently spotted the movement because they opened fire and peppered the hallway with bullets.

The girls and Peter had caught up to him. "There's two of them." He looked at Peter. They both knew the two behind them would catch up with them and they'd be trapped.

"I'll draw their fire, you get the girls out." Peter didn't wait for Wyatt's and MJ's protest. He moved past them, pausing briefly before darting out into the opening. He thought he could cause enough of a distraction that they could get across the opening and into the other corridor. As he moved out into the open he felt a rush of of heat on one side of him and a rush of cold on the other.

Wyatt almost let out a cry of joy. Johnny and Bobby were deflecting all of the bullets allowing Wyatt to move the girls across the opening. He grabbed Peter as he crossed moving him out of the way as well.

Davis met them on the other side, grabbing the girls and pulling them along. He tossed Wyatt a gun. "I can't create a portal in here. Something is blocking it."

Johnny and Bobby neutralized the two that had been firing and joined the group. Johnny, still glowing in yellowish red flames looked down at Peter's wrists. He grabbed the cuffs and held onto them until the metal melted into his hands.

Peter rubbed his wrists. "Good timing guys." He looked to the side as he saw MJ fire a web back down the hall they had just been in. Their pursuers had caught up with them. Peter yanked MJ behind himself and Johnny. "We need to get out."

Johnny nodded and turned to take care of the two in the hallway, amused that one was already tangled up in webs. Apparently the sight of someone on fire was terrifying to the one left standing because he took off running in the opposite direction. Johnny shrugged who looked over at Bobby who was in the process of forming an ice prison around the one MJ had webbed up as well as the other two.

Wyatt, Davis, Peter, and the girls had started moving toward the exit. Davis pushed open the doors and led the girls out. He knew how far away he had to get from the building in order to form a portal. Wyatt followed the girls, checking the area around them for signs of hostiles.

Peter waited at the door for Johnny and Bobby. They were both almost to the door when he heard a burst of gunfire behind him. He spun around in time to see Wyatt firing back at a group of men using a half wall as cover.

Bobby threw up an ice wall blocking the hostiles and providing cover for the three of them to leave the building and regroup with the others. Bobby and Johnny realized half way there that Peter wasn't going to make it on his own and carried him between them.

Davis led his group a little further and glanced behind them. Seeing a group exiting the building and begin shooting, he quickly opened a portal. Grabbing MJ's hand he pulled her after him. Wyatt pushed Jennifer through and followed knowing that Bobby and Johnny were behind him with Peter.

Peter glanced around the area they had portaled to as the airport hanger. "We've got to find Ned." He pushed himself off Bobby and Johnny only to almost lose his balance. Johnny steadied him and put an arm under his shoulder.

"You're tagging out. Nat said if either of you are hurt we are to get on the plane and get back to the compound. You can't even stand up on your own and both you and Wyatt are bleeding." Johnny dragged him up the stairs of the plane.

Peter didn't remember anything happening that would make him bleed. He tried pushing against Johnny again. "I need to find Ned."

"You need to not die." Johnny shoved him in a seat. Bobby had gone up to the cockpit and was already getting FRIDAY ready to take off. "Steve and Nat are a couple hours out. There's a local SHIELD team already on the ground. You're done." He turned and made sure everyone was on board. "FRIDAY take off. Let Nat and Tony know we have them and are in route to the compound." He looked over at MJ who was already pulling medical equipment out. "Can you handle him?"

Nodding, MJ sat next to Peter and put the auto IV on his arm. Once hooked up she slid an oxygen mask over his face and started looking for where the blood on his shirt was coming from. "Peter, look at me." She waited for the brown eyes to turn in her direction although she could tell he couldn't focus on her. "I think a bullet grazed your side. I need to take a look." Not waiting for a response she pulled the side of his shirt up and found the wound. Once she cleaned the blood off she realized it wasn't too bad. Slapping a bandage over it to stop the bleeding she focused on Peter again. His eyes were closed and she had a moment of panic until she realized his chest was moving under her hand. Letting out the breath she had unconsciously been holding she sat back and looked around the cabin of the plane. She could see Bobby in the cockpit making sure they had cleared LA airspace and that FRIDAY had their flight under control. Johnny and Davis were working on Wyatt who was similarly unconscious and reclined in one of the seats that doubled as a bed for long flights. Jennifer was in a chair staring at the chaos around her. MJ knew she needed to talk to her, explain to her, but right now she didn't have the energy.

"MJ, Dr. Cho would like an update if you're in a position to give her one."

MJ jumped a little when FRIDAY's voice echoed next to her ear. "Sure FRIDAY. Ummm...how do I talk to her."

"Put the headset next to you on and I'll patch her in."

MJ complied with FRIDAY's instructions and heard Dr. Cho's voice in her ear.

"MJ. It's Dr. Cho. First thing...are you ok? Are you hurt?"

MJ had to applaud Dr. Cho's bedside manner. She was calm which was definitely appreciated right now. "I'm fine Dr. Cho. I think Peter and Wyatt are the only two that are hurt. They're both unconscious. I have Peter hooked up to one of his IV bags, oxygen mask on. He got hit with a taser last night and his heart has been out of synch ever since. He also has a wound on his side. I cleaned it up and bandaged it. It looks like it's just a bullet graze."

"Perfect MJ. Can you do me one more favor? There should be a device in one of the cabinets that's about the size of your hand. I need you to attach it to Peter's chest so FRIDAY can stream his vitals to me."

MJ located the device and attached it to Peter's chest.

"Thanks. I'm getting his readings. Ok. Now tell me how Wyatt is doing."

MJ walked over to Wyatt and pulled the headset back. "Dr. Cho wants an update."

Davis held out his hand for the headset and put it on. "IV is in, concussion from last night, bullet in his shoulder." He looked over at MJ. "Can you find another monitor."

MJ returned with another monitor and placed it on Wyatt's chest. Satisfied it was transmitting correctly she sat back down in the chair next to Peter. If it weren't for the oxygen mask he looked like he was simply sleeping. Bobby walked out of the cockpit and sat next to her.

"How is he?"

"Unconscious. Wyatt too. Davis said Wyatt has a bullet lodged in his shoulder. Peter just got grazed." She lifted her eyes from Peter's face. "How long is the flight back?"

"FRIDAY is pushing the engines. I think we probably have another two hours though." Bobby looked over at MJ. "Are you ok?"

MJ nodded. "I'm glad you all got there when you did."

Bobby grimaced. "I wish we had known something was wrong earlier." He glanced over at Jennifer. "She looks completely freaked out."

MJ sighed and looked over at Jennifer. Bobby was right. And, she knew she needed to do something about it. "Keep an eye on him?" Standing, she walked over and sat down next to Jennifer.

"How are you so calm?" Jennifer looked over at MJ. "I mean you just patched up a bullet wound in Peter's side."

MJ shrugged, "Benefit of knowing who and what he is. I stitched up a knife wound a couple years ago too."

"What are they. I mean Johnny bursts into flames, Bobby turns to ice, Peter is Spider-Man, I don't know what the hell Davis does. What does Wyatt do?" Jennifer couldn't process what she had just seen. She didn't know what to do with it.

"Wyatt has the incredible distinction of being one of the few people on the planet that can land a hit on Black Widow. I know you can't really appreciate that but it's a rare thing." She looked around the cabin. "They're the next Avengers. The ones that'll keep us safe the same way Iron Man and Captain America have." She turned and looked at Jennifer. "They're special and amazing and it's an incredibly hard life to live. You'll have to decide if Wyatt is worth it. Either way, I need you to understand how important it is to keep their identities secret. Who they are and what they do...no one can know."

Jennifer looked around her again and nodded.


	7. The Compound

Johnny thought FRIDAY probably set a record for getting cross country. They arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Dr. Cho and the rest of the Avengers had plenty of forewarning and he was pretty sure the door was open before the jet had come to a complete stop. Bucky was in the cabin first followed by Dr. Cho and her team.

"All of you are to report to Med Bay to be checked out before being released for a debrief." Dr. Cho glared at Bucky. This had been a point of discussion for the last 30 minutes. He wanted intel which she understood but she had dealt with stubborn superheros for way too long. Everyone was getting checked out. She glanced at all of them waiting for them to move only to realize that the age of 18 was apparently a whole other level of stubbornness. She understood immediately that they weren't letting Peter and Wyatt out of their sight. "At least move out of the way so we can load them on stretchers." She looked over at two of the med techs. "Take Wyatt first. Imaging and then prep for surgery." She glanced at the group who had at least moved out to the back and were apparently deciding who was going to stay with each patient. Jennifer followed Johnny and Davis off the plane with Wyatt leaving MJ, Bobby, and Bucky with Peter.

MJ watched as they loaded Peter onto a stretcher. She glanced over at Bucky. "Have they found Ned yet?"

Bucky nodded. "He was at a local hospital listed as a John Doe. They want to remove the controller device before bringing him back so they're arranging to do it out there." Bucky looked down at MJ. "So far he doesn't remember anything."

MJ let out a sigh of relief. "Peter will be glad to hear he's ok."

"Have you talked to Tony?" Bucky followed MJ and Bobby off the plane.

"About an hour ago. He said he was about 3 hours behind us." MJ had not particularly enjoyed that conversation simply because she knew how upset Tony was even though he had been masterful at hiding it. There wasn't anything she could tell him that would have made him feel better.

Bucky followed MJ to MedBay. He had Dr. Cho's team check MJ out first then Jennifer so Bucky and Sam could debrief them about their last 24 hours. Bucky definitely wanted to talk to MJ by herself first. None of them knew Jennifer so they didn't know what to expect. He also wanted to try to time it so MJ could get back to Peter's room by the time he was done being evaluated and treated.

MJ knew she was fine but understood why she had to be checked out. She had years of dealing with Peter downplaying injuries and she imagined the rest of the Avengers were just as bad. Once given a clean bill of health she followed Bucky to one of the conference rooms.

"Do we need to worry about Jennifer?"

MJ shrugged. "I talked to her on the plane but she's still in shock. It's a lot to take in. 24 hours ago she was dating a normal guy from MIT and now she's drowning in the reality of the world we live in. But I do think she'll keep their secret." She walked Bucky through the events since dinner last night. It was hard for her to fathom that it had been less than 24 hours. Bucky was a lot more forthcoming with information than she expected him to be. By the time Jennifer walked in he had told her Basil hadn't been found but they recovered some files related to the controller technology. They also thought they may know what was interfering with Peter's Spidey sense and Davis's inability to create a portal in close proximity to the building but they needed to get Tony's input on some of it because quite honestly the tech was over their head.

Jennifer walked in and sat next to MJ. She had also been given a clean bill of health. MJ thought she looked a little less shell shocked. MJ hoped it might be partially because Wyatt was out of surgery and was currently in recovery. Wyatt and Jennifer were good together and she thought Jennifer could actually adjust to this life.

Jennifer's account was pretty much the same as MJ's but with fewer details. It didn't take Bucky long to figure out he had all the information the two girls could offer and he released them.

Walking out Jennifer grabbed MJ's arm. "I want you to know I heard what you told me on the plane. I understand the need to protect them. I won't betray that."

MJ smiled. "Thanks. I thought maybe once you had time to process you'd be ok." She looked over at her while they waited for the elevator. "And Wyatt?"

"Wyatt and I apparently have some things to discuss so the jury is still out on that one." Jennifer followed MJ into the elevator. "But I think those things might be worth discussing." She looked over at MJ and returned the smile. "So we'll see."

xxxxxxxxxx

Tony walked down the hall towards Peter's room in MedBay. He had spent the entire flight rotating between talking to Dr. Cho, Nat, and Bucky so he was mostly up to speed with the situation. Now all he wanted was to see Peter. Being told your son had been electrocuted...again and shot...again was nerve wracking when you were halfway across the globe. He pulled the door open and froze at the sight in front of him. MJ was curled up against Peter's side, sound asleep. It was a sight that reminded him that Peter was no longer the 14 year old boy he had taken to Germany. He had grown into the man Tony knew he could become. It was a bittersweet moment and Tony realized he didn't want to wake MJ which meant he wasn't going to go park himself next to Peter's bed. At least not yet. He stayed at the door long enough to assure himself that Peter was alive and breathing on his own and that the heart monitor wasn't quite as erratic as it had been the first time he had been hit with electricity then retreated. He looked down at the three boys sitting in the hallway with their backs against the walls. "You're not moving are you?"

Johnny looked up. "No sir."

Tony nodded and walked towards Dr. Cho's office. "FRIDAY find someone to move three comfortable chairs into the hallway outside Peter and Wyatt's rooms and get someone to bring Johnny, Bobby, and Davis some food." He walked into Dr. Cho's office.

Dr. Cho looked up when Tony walked in and frowned. "I'm surprised you're not in Peter's room."

Tony shrugged, "MJ was asleep and I didn't want to wake her."

"Good. She was starting to crash last time I saw her." She studied Tony's expression. "You're handling this a whole lot better than I expected you to."

Tony shrugged. "He's alive. I panicked enough on the plane. Seeing him breathing on his own in person put some of the panic to rest." He sat down in the chair across from her desk. "How much damage did he do?"

"You need to invent something that protects him against electricity. He's young and the Spider will probably repair all of the damage but if he's not careful he's going to end up with just as much heart damage as you have." Dr. Cho sat back in her chair and looked at Tony. "It would be helpful if we knew how much he got hit with. Did they find the taser device when they found Ned?"

Tony shook his head. "No. But I can give you a baseline. This watch was rated for a certain amount of electricity. The fact that most of the components were fried tells me that it was a pretty high charge. I think Wyatt pushing Ned off of Peter was probably what prevented more damage from happening." Some thoughts were rolling around in his head but he needed to talk to Peter first. Something about using Ned to attack him with a taser didn't sit right with him. "How is Wyatt?"

"He'll recover. I'll have to figure out some way to rehab him in Boston. I think I can get him ready to head back by Sunday night by using the cradle technology but he'll still need somewhere in Boston to do therapy for maybe a week."

"Whatever you need Helen. How's his head?" Tony thought through different things he could set up in Boston.

"Apparently his head is just as hard as the rest of your heads. I expected him to have a skull fracture but his X-rays came back clean. He'll just have a really bad headache for a couple days."

xxxxxxxxxx

Wanting to give MJ some time to sleep Tony headed to ops. "What's the latest?"

Bucky and Sam looked up in confusion when Tony walked in. "Why aren't you camped out in Peter's room?"

"MJ was asleep and I didn't want to wake her. When are Steve and Nat planning on coming back?" Tony sat down and started flipping through the information compiled on the tablet in front of him.

"They took off about 30 minutes ago. SHIELD is going to bring Ned back in a couple days." Bucky put another tablet in front of Tony. "As long as you're not holed up in Peter's room, take a look at this."

Tony picked up the second tablet and started reading. "This explains why Peter's Spidey sense was off. We've thought it all was somehow related to brainwaves which are nothing more than electrical impulses. It makes sense that the controller technology would interfere with those impulses so it could override them." He thought through the implication of Davis not being able to form a portal. "I may be able to explain Davis too...I need to try something first."

xxxxxxxxxx

Tony returned to the MedBay floor seeking out Davis only to find the hallway empty. He heard voices from Wyatt's room and figured Wyatt had woken up. Putting the experiment on hold he pushed open Peter's door and stepped in. MJ's head turned and looked toward the door. Tony smiled, "You were asleep when I came in before. I thought you probably needed the rest. Has he woken up at all?"

MJ slid off the bed. "I'm not sure if you can call it waking up. He tried to roll over and almost pulled the heart monitor off."

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, he is not the most elegant sleeper nor does he really respect medical equipment. He's gotten himself tangled up in wires and tubes more than once. It's honestly why a lot of this is wireless at this point."

MJ smiled and looked down at Peter. "So how long does he usually sleep?"

It dawned on Tony that this was MJ's first experience with hurt Peter. She had seen him on the tail end of recovery but never really during this part. "My guess is he'll be out all of tonight and part of tomorrow. Broken bones and cuts he would just go to sleep and be fine in the morning. His body has the ability to triage wounds so it'll take care of the biggest problems first. So right now, it's working on healing the damage in his heart." He glanced over at the heart monitor that was still showing an erratic rhythm. "You'll start to see the rhythm settle into a more even pattern over the next six hours or so. Then it'll work on mending the wound on his side." He looked over at MJ. "And just a heads up, he gets really irritable when he's hurt."

MJ looked up at Tony and mentally filed away everything he had told her. She knew that this wouldn't be the only time she would find herself sitting in a hospital room with Peter. She was glad she was here and not just waiting for the 'I'm not dead' text or a text from Karen cataloging the non-life threatening injuries.

"MJ, why don't you go upstairs and get something to eat. My guess is you haven't eaten much today." Tony watched her debate the idea of leaving. "I'll stay with him and then when you get back and I can fill you in on the 'tips for dealing with hurt Peter'.

MJ smiled. She was starving but she really hadn't wanted to leave Peter. She also knew this was a new area for Tony. Before, she was pretty sure he stayed with Peter the entire time he was in MedBay. And now, he was having to share. She thought he was doing fairly well with it so far. She nodded and walked towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit."

Tony watched her walk out and then settled into the chair next to Peter's bed. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that he didn't hate the idea of sharing Peter with MJ. Peter would always be his son and he would always be at Peter's side when Peter needed him. He was just incredibly happy that Peter also had MJ. She was good for him. He looked over at the bed when Peter moved a bit. He saw Peter's hand move to where MJ had been a few moment ago.

Peter tried to force his eyes open. "MJ...". He was groggy enough that he wasn't sure if he actually spoke her name or if it was just in his head.

"Hey Kid."

Peter turned his head towards the familiar voice and felt the comforting pressure on his shoulder. It was the voice that always told him he was home and that he was safe. "Dad..."

"I sent MJ to get something to eat." Tony leaned over and ran his hand through the curls. He could feel Peter trying to fight through the grogginess. "Pete, you need to go back to sleep." Tony watched a frown form on Peter's face and it dawned on him what the problem was. "Wyatt is in the room next door. He's awake and will make a full recovery. Steve and Nat found Ned and he too will be ok". He felt a Peter relax. "Anything else you're worried about?"

"MJ...".

Tony frowned. While Peter was generally out of it at times like this he usually at least remembered what Tony said. "MJ went to get something to eat."

Peter tried shaking his head. "No..." he moved his hand next to him. "She was keeping me warm."

Tony laughed. "Kid, as your father I'm not sure I can tell your girlfriend to crawl back in bed with you."

Peter rolled over and settled back into the bed. "Sure you can. You're Tony Stark. You can do anything."


	8. I’m Hungry

Peter woke up with his stomach growling. He looked around the room and smiled when he saw MJ curled up in a chair, nose in a book. "Hey". He still felt a little groggy but hunger was winning the battle.

MJ looked up from her book. "Hey yourself. How are you feeling?"

"Hungry. What time is it?" Peter tried to push himself up.

MJ glanced down at her watch as she stood to help Peter maneuver into a sitting position. "Almost 1pm. On Friday. What do you want to eat?"

"I don't know...food." It came out snippier than Peter intended but he felt pain shoot through his side as he shifted in bed. Reaching down he felt the bandage and tried to look at it.

"You got shot. Just a graze." MJ crosses her arms and looked at Peter. Tony was right. Hurt Peter equaled Irritable Peter.

Peter frowned. "When did I get shot?"

MJ sighed, "Best guess is that it happened when we were leaving the building. Wyatt got hit in the shoulder." MJ saw the look of panic on Peter's face and added quickly "He's fine. He's in the room next door." She sat down and scrutinized him. She needed a baseline of behavior so she'd know better how to deal with him when he was hurt. But, she also knew from years of shoving protein bars at him the next morning after Karen had let her know he had gotten hurt the night before that he really did need to eat. "FRIDAY, can you get someone to bring Peter some 'food'. And let Tony know he's awake?"

"Enacting 'Hungry Baby Protocol'."

"FRIDAY, I thought we changed the name." Peter asked, exasperated, trying not to look at MJ who was laughing uncontrollably.

"Boss changed it back."

Peter growled, glancing over at MJ. "It's not that funny."

"Yes it is." MJ forced herself to stop laughing. Deciding that switching subjects was the best way to handle Peter right now she leaned forward to look at him. "So what do you remember?"

Peter frowned again and looked down at his lap trying to pull memories out. "Getting out of the building and portaling to the hanger. Not much after that. I think dad was here last night?" He looked over at MJ with a questioning look. "I remember him saying Wyatt was ok, Ned had been found, and he sent you to get something to eat." At least he hoped that was a memory and not just a dream.

MJ nodded. "Not bad. I didn't think you'd remember anything from the plane. You were unconscious before I finished cleaning up your side." Ignoring the look on Peter's face at that comment, she continued to the stuff she knew Peter was most concerned about. "They found Ned in a local hospital with the controller tech still on his neck. They wanted to get it removed before bringing him back. So far he doesn't remember much."

Peter let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that Ned would be ok he felt like a weight had been lifted.

MJ smiled at his obvious relief. "Wyatt got shot in the shoulder. No skull fracture. They put him in some kind of devise the Dr. Cho created? Cradle technology? Anyway, bullet wound is almost completely healed. He'll have to do a little bit of rehab in Boston which your dad and Dr. Cho are setting up. I think his head still hurts a little bit."

Peter nodded. He had seen the cradle tech used once before when Nat had gotten shot in the leg on a mission. It was pretty impressive. "How freaked out is Jennifer?"

"Not as bad as it could be. I think she'll keep everyone's secrets. She and Wyatt are talking. Not sure where that's going. I'm sure I've got a couple days worth of unpacking everything when we get back Sunday night."

Peter frowned when she mentioned going back Sunday night. He had enjoyed being with MJ for a full week. It was easy to forget they they both had to return to school on Monday. In different cities.

"I know. Me too." MJ knew the look on Peter's face. She leaned over and rested her elbows on the bed. "I really liked spending the week with you."

"Even though I spent the entire week obsessing over Avenger stuff and then someone tried to kill us?" Peter looked over at her, doubt flashing across his face.

MJ didn't hesitate. "Yes. And even sitting here waiting for you to wake up. And even cleaning up a bullet wound in your side. All of it. The good and the bad." She paused and grabbed his hand. "This was preferable to waiting for the text that simply said 'I'm not dead.'"

xxxxxxxxxx

Tony fastened a prototype watch on Davis's wrist. "Ok. Envision your tactical gear. You've seen Peter's suit form. Think about your gear forming the same way."

Davis looked over at Tony with skepticism. "How am I supposed to 'envision' tactical gear?"

Tony sighed. This was so much easier with Peter. "I don't know. Just imagine the gear on."

Davis shook his head but closed his eyes. At this point he just felt stupid...until he felt his tactical gear covering his body. Opening his eyes he looked down. "That was seriously cool."

Tony leaned back against the lab table and smirked. "This just means we're a little closer to nailing down exactly how you form portals. And, you now have a cool little gadget and you don't have to change into your gear."

Now that he could do it, Davis retracted and formed the gear several times until he saw Tony rolling his eyes. "Sorry. Wyatt is going to be so mad."

There was a gleeful tone to the comment that Tony could appreciate. "You're using your brain to control the portals. Which means there's a lot more you could probably to with them. It's also why you couldn't portal near the building in California. The controller technology interferes with brain waves. The nanotechnology also utilizes a mental component. Peter and I haven't really been able to isolate exactly which part of our brain waves are controlling the tech. All we know is that not everyone can use it. So problem one solved."

"Boss, Peter is awake. I'm sending food to his room. Would you like anything to eat?"

Tony smiled. Peter was awake. "No FRIDAY. Just send food for Peter and MJ." He looked over at Davis who was still fiddling with the watch and the nanotech. "Report to imaging. I need a brain scan." He heard Davis groan as he walked out of the room and headed towards Peter's room.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Hey kid!" Tony walked into Peter's room, happy to see him sitting up, MJ perched on the side of the bed. He glanced at the monitors as he moved to the other side of Peter's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Side hurts and I'm hungry."

Tony chuckled and sat down in the chair next to Peter's bed and handed him a protein bar. FRIDAY would have everyone moving quickly to get Peter something to eat but it still took a little bit of time.

Peter unwrapped the protein bar and ate it in two bites. Swallowing he looked over, "Thanks dad."

Tony nodded. "If your heart stays in sync Dr. Cho will probably release you once she sees that your side is starting to heal." He knew how much Peter hated sleeping in hospital beds. Peter would be driving everyone crazy as soon as he had some food in him. "How's the stickiness?"

Peter shrugged. "Better than before. But not reliable yet." He thought back to the last time he had been hit with electricity. Now that he had time to think through the events something about Ned using a taser on him seemed odd. "Dad, don't you think it's weird that they used a taser on me?"

MJ straightened up and looked between Tony and Peter. She could tell there was more to it than just a simple question.

Tony nodded. "They knew you were Spider-Man. It seems like an oddly specific choice of weapon. Maybe Ned told them once they put the controller device on him."

Peter shook his head. "Dad, Ned didn't know about what happened with Osborn. The only people who know anything about it are in this building."

Tony sat back and looked at Peter. "You didn't tell Ned?"

Peter shook his head and glanced over at MJ. "MJ didn't know about it until the thing with Harry." He looked back over at his dad. "How sure are we that his files and notes didn't get out."

Tony scrubbed a hand over his face. "Not 100%."

MJ looked between the two. "You think someone has Osborn's information on Peter?" She could only imagine what that would include. She knew Peter had been used as a lab rat and she knew Osborn had known who he was.

Tony frowned. "Maybe. It explains how they knew who he was. And they definitely would've had to have known who he was if they had vibranium handcuffs. You can't just pick those up anywhere. And using electricity is just too much of a coincidence." This wasn't good on so many fronts. His knee jerk reaction was going to be to keep Peter at the compound but he knew that wouldn't be received well.

Peter looked between MJ and his dad. "I'm not hiding so both of you get it out of your head. We'll deal with it." Peter cycled through what he would need to put in place to keep MJ safe. He wasn't sure how she would take it but he'd have to make sure she understood it was non-negotiable.

They all looked at the door as it opened and a cart was pushed in containing lunch for Peter and MJ. Tony looked at the two. "You eat, I'll go talk to Nat and Steve."

MJ and Peter watched Tony walk out of the room, followed by the person who had delivered their food. Peter picked up a sandwich and took a couple bites trying to figure out how to broach the subject with MJ. He finally settled on the direct approach. "MJ..."

MJ looked up from her sandwich. "You want me to have a tracker and some kind of body guard don't you?"

Peter stared at her. Of course she knew what he was thinking. "Yes. If they know who I am then they know who is important to me."

"Ok." MJ took another bite of her sandwich.

Peter looked at her suspiciously. "That was way easier than I expected."

"Peter, I'm not stupid and I don't have a death wish. Being your girlfriend means that I'm a target for anyone who wants to get to you. And I don't just mean you Spider-Man but also you Peter Parker, Tony Stark's son. I knew what I was getting into and I did it with my eyes open." MJ put her sandwich down and looked at Peter. "I'm all in. Tracker and body guard included."


	9. Power

Tony walked into the command center. Steve and Natasha had been sifting through bits of information they had recovered in California. "I think Osborn's information got out."

Natasha sat back and looked at Tony. "Because of the taser?"

"And the handcuffs. You can't just pick up vibranium handcuffs on your way to a kidnapping." Tony leaned against the table and looked at Natasha and Steve. "They knew who he was and they were prepared for him."

Steve stood up from where he had been leaning over Natasha's shoulder. "We were never 100% sure it was contained. If it were just that they knew he was Spider-Man I might say you were just being paranoid. But the taser voltage is enough to make me think you're right."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Natasha looked between the two men. They all knew Peter well enough to know he wasn't going to hide. And, he'd make it really challenging for them to protect him. Plus there was MJ to worry about. Natasha started running through options on keeping MJ safe.

Steve looked down at Natasha. "I'm not quite as worried about Peter as long as the other four are with him. And let's face it, they're almost always together. Peter has every class with at least one of them." He glanced down at the information they had been reviewing. "But the quicker we find out who is behind this the better."

Tony sat down and grabbed a tablet. "Agreed. What do we know?"

xxxxxxxxxx

"I don't understand why I can't just walk next door. It's not that far."

Dr. Cho crossed her arms and looked at Peter. "Because the last erratic rhythm you had was less than 4 hours ago and there's still an open wound on your side." She sighed and looked over at the wheelchair. "I told Wyatt the same thing. He got dizzy when he stood up. If you two want to insist upon moving around then you're doing it sitting down. Otherwise, you're both going to be stuck here much longer than you want."

Peter recognized the last statement as the threat it was. Throwing back the covers he snarled "Fine." He was just glad MJ had agreed to grab a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt from his room upstairs. Pushing himself off the bed he dropped down into the wheelchair. He would never admit it to Dr. Cho but the sudden movement had made him a little lightheaded. "Happy?"

"No. But it's better than you trying to sneak out of the room." She glanced up at MJ with a look that said 'good luck' and stepped back to let the two of them through.

MJ pushed Peter to the door and opened it, allowing Peter to wheel himself through. She smirked as he pushed himself down the hall at a faster speed than Dr. Cho would probably recommend. Reaching Wyatt's door he realized he needed MJ's help because he couldn't move the chair back far enough to open the door and still reach the door. Growling he glanced back at her with a look that said 'please help'. She pulled the door open to find a similarly irritated Wyatt in a matching wheelchair on the other side.

"No, we are getting the hell out of this room." Wyatt winced as he tried to push himself through the door. Davis stepped behind him and took over.

"The cradle tech is cool but you had a bullet hole in your shoulder 24 hours ago. You're not pushing yourself." Davis just laughed at the growl coming from Wyatt. "Where to?"

Peter nodded his head down the hall. "There's a conference room at the end of the hall." He wheeled that way with the rest of them following behind him. MJ was going to check on Jennifer. He had a lot to unpack with the team that MJ and Jennifer didn't need to be involved in...at least not yet.

Bobby pulled the conference room door open and allowed Peter and Wyatt through. Johnny filed in behind Davis leaving Bobby to close the door behind them. "Glad to see your eyes open Sleeping Beauty."

Peter shrugged, really hoping that nickname wasn't going to stick. "It's what keeps me from having to use the cradle tech."

"The cradle tech is seriously cool. You can't even see the bullet hole." Wyatt pulled the sleeve of his shirt up. "It's still really achy though."

"I'm really sorry you got shot." Peter frowned. "It's my fault."

Wyatt shook his head. "Not your fault. Bad guy with a gun. End of story."

"I wish it were." Peter thought they deserved to know that this whole thing was possibility linked to him. Which meant telling them everything about Osborn. Everything. "The guys who grabbed us knew I was Spider-Man."

Johnny nodded. "We figured as much. The cuffs were Vibranium. I had to go pretty hot in order to melt them."

Peter looked over at Johnny, "Vibranium is one of the few substances I can't break since it just absorbs anything that hits it. I can bend it but that’s about it. Melting may be one of the only ways to overpower it." Peter took a deep breath and looked at the team. "The fact that I got hit with a high voltage taser is also something really specific that not a whole lot of people know about."

Wyatt shook his head. "Peter, you're not making this any clearer. What's this about."

"During my senior year in high school, my Spidey sense started going off non-stop. The only place it wasn't going off was the tower."

Bobby scoffed, "That's because that place is more secure than the White House."

Everyone chuckled knowing the truth to Bobby's statement. "Ok Peter, Spidey sense going off. Obviously someone was stalking you." Johnny crossed his arms and looked at Peter waiting for the rest of the story.

"It blew off the front end of the car Pepper, Happy, and I were in just to try to get to me."

"It?" Wyatt rested his elbows on the arms of the wheelchair.

"It. It ended up being human but when it attacked it kind of looked like a Skrull." Peter knew they all had seen pictures of a Skrull so they had the visual in their head. "Pepper and Happy getting hurt kind of sent me off a cliff. The constant buzz of my Spidey sense was already driving me a little crazy and that was just the final straw. I allowed myself to get taken knowing that the rest of them would find me and stop him."

The team nodded. It was a perfectly logical solution. One that each of them would have opted for themselves. When Peter didn't get the overreaction of concern that he would have gotten from the rest of the Avengers he realized that his team got it. They understood. It wasn't something Peter ever really had before and it dawned on him what a gaping hole the four of them filled for him. He wasn't their younger brother like he was to Nat and Bucky. He was their equal. Davis pulled him out of his head. "So how is this related to what happened?"

"The creature that grabbed me was Norman Osborn using a morphing technology he created from the Skrulls. Norman Osborn as in the OsCorp CEO who went missing my senior year. Only he's not missing. He's dead." Peter sighed. "The field trip I was on when I was 14 and got bitten by the spider was to OsCorp. Osborn was trying to create a new version of the Super Soldier serum. When he figured out that Spider-Man was the result of his serum, he needed me to try to produce more serum. After he grabbed me not only did he sequence my DNA but he also did things to figure out my limits."

"He experimented on you." Bobby crossed his arms and frowned.

Johnny shook his head. "He tortured you. The electricity. That's what you're talking about. He hit you with electricity to see how you would react and discovered that you don't tolerate it because all of your stickiness and spidey sense are coming from electrical impulses."

Peter nodded. "Which is why the high voltage taser is suspicious. People have seen me stop trains and busses. How do you guess that a high hit of electricity will take me out."

Wyatt leaned back and stretched his legs out. "You don't." He thought for a second. "Ok. Files got out. Who has them?"

"That is the question of the day. Basil was working on controller technology and it seems like he figured it out. But I don't think he's behind this. He's just a minion." Peter thought for a moment about why controller tech bothered him so much . It mostly stemmed back to the idea he had that if you had Super Soldiers you had to have a way to control them. He had been worried enough that his dad had sent his DNA to Professor Xavier to look at. "If you can't mind control Super Soldiers like the Winter Soldier program then you need another way to make sure they do what you want and not what they want. I mean, can you imagine the damage any of us could do if we weren't in control?"

Davis sat down in one of the chairs. "But, we also know the controller tech is tied in with whoever the new fixer is."

Johnny leaned against the table and looked at the group. "The fixer could just be a minion too. Super Soldiers and Bio Enhanced individuals. Both that you can control. What in the hell do you need that kind of fire power for?"


	10. Team Meeting

The boys sat in the conference room bouncing ideas off of each other. Johnny looked over at Peter about thirty minutes into it. "Osborn. That's why you took off after Gwen introduced you to Harry."

Peter nodded. "I had just met a dead man's son. I've spent the last five years making sure that I don't kill anyone. You all know Tony as my dad but neither one of us knew about it until I was 17. The man I thought was my father died in a plane crash when I was 3. I've been an orphan longer than I've been Tony Stark's son." Peter looked down. "I was raised by my aunt and uncle then my uncle was killed when I was 14. To be responsible for a son no longer having a father hit me really hard."

"He tortured you. Tried to kill people you care about. You have zero reason to feel bad about his death." Wyatt was starting to understand Peter's vehement insistence on not killing anyone.

"So my dad and MJ keep telling me."

"Speaking of MJ. I'm assuming you're putting some kind of protection in place. How are you managing that?" Bobby had seen Peter after MJ had broken up with him for trying to protect her. He really didn't want his friend to have to go through that again.

"She's agreed to a tracker and a body guard. Just not sure how the body guard thing is going to work. Happy going to class with her would not go well." Peter glanced over at Wyatt. "What about Jennifer. They're roommates."

Wyatt frowned. "She is so freaked out over all of this. Telling her that her life may be in danger is not going to go over well."

Peter sighed. "I went the route of keeping MJ in the dark and she broke up with me. All I can say is that if you think she'll keep your secrets then telling her the truth isn't a bad option." Granted Peter and MJ had way more history but Peter was starting to get some perspective when it came to being a superhero. He was even starting to wonder if keeping his identity a secret was even worth it. That was a much bigger conversation that he couldn't even think about having right now.

All five boys looked over to the door as it was pushed open. Tony walked in and surveyed the scene in front of him. "Team meeting."

”Yes." Peter answered, looking at his dad with a questioning look.

"No...team meeting. In the command center." Tony sighed when all five boys looked at him with the same questioning look. "All of you report to the command center. Full team meeting."

xxxxxxxxxx

Steve and Natasha looked up as the five boys filed into the command center with Tony pushing Peter in last. The rest of the team that was at the compound had already made it in and were sitting around the table. Once everyone had settled in Steve looked over at Peter. "Are they up to speed on what happened with Osborn?" After Peter nodded he continued. "After what happened in California we're working under the assumption that Osborn's files on Peter got out." He put up a picture of Basil Sandhurst. "SHIELD has all hands on deck looking for Basil as well as our mysterious fixer."

Peter leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table and glanced over at his team. "You've probably come to the same conclusion we have - that they're both working for someone who has an interest in controlling Super Soldiers and Bio Enhanced individuals."

Johnny sat back and looked up at Steve. "Which begs the question 'why'. Who needs to control that much fire power."

Tony smirked at Natasha who was currently beaming with pride that the boys had come to the same conclusion. Natasha put up another picture. "Best guess...Ross. His anti-mutant rumblings are starting to turn more into a movement." She glanced around at everyone at the table. "We are flying under the radar with this and not looping SHIELD into our suspicions. Ross still has a lot of friends in high places."

"Going after Ross is going to have repercussions." Sam glances around at the group. "I'm not saying he isn't responsible. I'm just saying we need to make sure we have facts and not just speculation."

Steve nodded. "Which is going to take time. Ross has always been good at covering his network."

Wyatt frowned. "Something else is bothering me about this. Why grab me and Peter. I get that their target was probably Peter and I was just in the way but does that mean they don't have the super soldier serum complete?"

"Actually, we think you and Peter were probably both the intended target." Natasha switched the picture up to the controller tech with a series of code next to it. "We think Ned might have gotten suspicious. When they removed the device from him they were able to interface with it and see at least the back end of the code. We think he was trying to build in a back door. If they found out and their goal was to get it done they would have needed to make sure that you couldn't stop them." She looked over at Peter. "You were in the SUV when you met Ned for lunch and when you four went out for dinner, right?"

Peter nodded, frowning. "You think they tracked the SUV?"

"Not exactly. Basil is a computer genius. Hacking into traffic cameras would have been easy. If he knew what you were driving he could have located the vehicle." She looked at Wyatt. "You were just as much of a threat they just didn't know who you were so they couldn't plan for you."

xxxxxxxxx

Most of the Avengers trickled out after receiving their assignments. Peter stayed behind. "I need a way to protect MJ and pulling her out of school isn't an option. She's agreed to a tracker and protection but..." he looked over at Natasha, "you know her definition of protection and mine are totally different."

Natasha nodded. "I know. I gave some thought to just moving in with her but I think we came up with a better option."

Steve sat down next to Peter and Tony. "We called T'Challa to fill him in on Ross. He's been fighting the anti-mutant movement politically and he knows Ross is a snake. He had a great idea that we think MJ will be ok with."

xxxxxxxxxx

Peter walked into his bedroom upstairs. MJ had been put there although she had barely spent any time there since she had slept in Peter's room in the MedBay.

"Hey, they cut you lose. I'm assuming that means your heart is working right again and the Spider healed your side?" MJ stood up from where she had been reading on Peter's bed and walked over to Peter. Pulling up his shirt she inspected the area where the wound had been. All that remained was the faintest hint of redness.

"Dr. Cho officially released me." He leaned over and kissed MJ before sitting down on his bed. "Your brand new watch, complete with your very own panic button and satellite tracker will be ready tomorrow. No nanotech spider suit although I did consider giving you a web shooter."

MJ sat down next to him laughing. "I thought I did pretty good with it."

"You did." Peter looked over at her. "I don't think I tell you enough how amazing you are."

MJ frowned at him. "You better not be trying to butter me up just to tell me you're locking me away until this is over."

Peter quickly shook his head. "No, if fact I think you'll actually like the option Nat came up with." He pulled out his phone and hit dial. Soon a face appeared on the screen.

"MJ! I was hoping you'd come back to Wakanda to visit but it looks like I'm having to come to you."

MJ stared at the phone in disbelief. "Nakia?" She looked at Peter, "You got Nakia to be my body guard."

"Peter had nothing to do with this. Natasha and Steve called to fill T'Challa in on what's been going on. I happened to be in the room at the time. I volunteered. Think of it more as two friends catching up."

MJ looked between Peter and Nakia. "When do you get here?"

"We'll fly over tomorrow and will spend some time working on logistics." Nakia smiled, "MJ, there is a saying in Africa...'Even the lion, king of the forest, protects himself against flies'. Do not look at this as unneeded and inconvenient. It is my hope that you don't need me. But if you do, I shall be there."

MJ sighed, "I know. I'm working on it. It'll be good to see you." The call disconnected and MJ looked at Peter. "It could be worse. I was worried Natasha was going to move in."

"Oh...that's Plan B."


	11. The Coming War

Peter walked into Wyatt's room in MedBay. "Heard you have to stay another night."

Wyatt crossed his arms and frowned at Peter. "Just because I got a little lightheaded when I tried to stand up Dr. Cho made me get a whole other round of x-rays and scans." He looked over at Peter. "Remind me not to get hit over the head with a gun again."

Peter nodded. "She's just making sure you're ok. I think you'll still be ready to head back to Boston Sunday night." Peter slid into the chair next to Wyatt. "How is Jennifer really doing?"

Wyatt shrugged. "Not bad considering the last couple days. Steve talked to her when he came down to bring me some pajama pants and a t-shirt. He has an unbelievable ability to make all of this seem not completely crazy. It calmed her down some." He leaned back on the bed and looked at Peter. "The cats out of the bag about who we are, might as well go the no secrets route, right?" Wyatt hadn't fully committed to the idea yet but was warning up to it.

Peter leaned back and put his foot up on the bars on the side of the bed. "MJ knew I was Spider-Man before we started dating. When we did start dating I was still your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man who on occasion would go on a mission with the Avengers. I would tell her some stuff but the older I got and the more missions I went on the more things I saw. Things I didn't think she needed to be exposed to. Things I wanted to protect her from. Hell, things I wanted to protect everyone from." He looked over at Wyatt, "But it wasn't just the Avenger stuff. Things I'd see as Spider-Man on a normal Friday night in New York. People can really do some horrible things." He shifted a little before continuing. "The more I saw the more boxes I had to create to put stuff into. I had the classified boxes, the horrible things boxes, and the I got hurt and I didn't want you to know about it box. Eventually there were more boxes that I wouldn't allow her to see than boxes that she could see."

"That makes for a rough life." Wyatt realized there were big chunks of Peter's life they hadn't known about. He had opened up a lot the last couple days and he felt like it made them all stronger, more of a team.

"It does and it was what drove her to break up with me. When she came to Boston she said she wanted in all of the boxes. So that's what we do now. And she's handling it. She's handling it better than I ever gave her credit for. There's still a couple things I haven't been able to tell her but it's a work in progress." Peter shrugged, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not the end of the world if you let someone into the boxes as long as you trust them and they actually want in the boxes.

Wyatt looked over at Peter again, "It's weird. We don't have the history you and MJ have but I trust her. I guess I just need to see if she really wants in the boxes. What's the plan for protection?"

Peter grinned, "When MJ went to Africa Bucky called T'Challa and they got Nakia to keep an eye on her." Peter realized Wyatt had no idea who Nakia was and barely knew who T'Challa was so he backed up. "Wakanda's version of the CIA is called the 'War Dogs'. Nakia is..." Peter frowned, "...maybe was, a War Dog. Now she does a lot more of the outreach stuff Wakanda has started but she's basically the Wakanda version of Nat. She's coming here and will act as MJ's bodyguard. MJ knows her and likes her so she won't push back too much. If Jennifer can get comfortable with it she'll just move into their guest room at the apartment. If not they'll put her next door. Depends on Jennifer."

Wyatt sighed. "Ok, I'll talk to her and see how comfortable she is with the idea. Who knows she may want to dump all of us and go home." Wyatt frowned at the thought. Pushing it aside he looked back over at Peter. "I was worried you were going to tell me Nat was going to do it. Jennifer hasn't warmed up to Nat yet."

Peter laughed, "That's plan B. And Jennifer doesn't like Nat because she can't figure your relationship out. Nat treats you like she does me...like a little brother. But Nat is...well...she's Natasha Romanoff. That's a little intimidating until you get to know her."

Wyatt laughed. He knew Peter was right in his assessment of how Jennifer viewed Natasha. "One more question...when did we become Avengers? I'm not complaining but it was a little anticlimactic."

Peter laughed as he stood up. "Yeah, I don't think anyone is ever asked. I'm not sure when we went from Natasha's junior Avengers to full fledged ones." Peter turned when he heard the door open. He smiled at Jennifer as she walked in. "Hey Jennifer. See if you can cheer him up some. He's got to spend another night down here."

Jennifer smiled and walked over to Wyatt's bed. "I'll do my best."

"See you later Wyatt. Tell FRIDAY to get me if you need anything." Peter closed the door behind him and headed back upstairs.

xxxxxxxxxx

The five boys made their way into the command center. At some point on Friday, Tony and Steve thought it would be best to brief all affected parties. Peter wasn't even sure what that meant until they walked into the command center to find standing room only. Peter whispered to Bobby and Johnny who happened to be standing on either side of him. "Do you have any idea what the combined IQ is in the room right now?"

"Pretty damn high." Johnny waived at Sue and Reed who were making their way over to Johnny and Wyatt.

Bobby spotted Professor Xavier and pulled Peter over. "Peter, I don't think you've met Scott or Jean before." Bobby turned to the two people flanking Professor Xavier. "Scott Summers, Jean Grey, this is Peter."

"Bobby's talked about you both. It's great to meet you in person. Scott, thanks for the assist with Firebrand. The information was helpful." Peter shook hands with all three. Before Peter could add anything, Tony walked up to the group. "Charles, can can I borrow Peter for a minute?" Tony steered Peter toward T'Challa. "Dad, why is everyone here?"

"Yeah, it got a little out of control. It's hard to imagine that all of this started with six of us battling Chitauri in New York. We thought it was only fair to let Reed and Sue know what's going on especially since Wyatt got hurt. Ross has been specifically targeting mutants which means Charles needed to be informed."

"Why is Dr. Strange here?" Peter glanced around at all of the faces. "And isn't that the giant guy?"

Tony followed Peter's gaze as they continued to move through the room, "That's Lang. He's big and little. Stephen was here this morning consulting on your electrical problem and what we discovered on how Davis makes portals and just decided to stay. He said he's representing the 'mystic arts'...I really just think he felt left out." Despite the condescending tone he used when he said 'mystic arts', Tony actually liked Stephen. Although if they spent too much time together they'd probably end up trying to kill each other. "T'Challa is heading back to Wakanda right after the briefing. He wanted to actually meet you. You stayed in the back of the room with Clint when we were in Wakanda before."

'That's because he's a head of state and I'm a teenager from Queens' Peter thought to himself. He looked up at the incredibly imposing figure that was T'Challa and his equally imposing body guard and extended his hand. "King T'Challa, I'm Peter."

"Peter, it's nice to finally meet you. And please, just T'Challa." T'Challa shook Peter's hand. "This is Okoye, General of the Dora Milaje." Okoye nodded at Peter but didn't move her hand off of her staff.

Peter thought he saw T'Challa roll his eyes at Okoye but he couldn't be sure. "T'Challa, thank you for allowing Nakia to help protect MJ."

T'Challa put an arm around Peter's shoulder. "You are welcome, although my approval was not needed. Nakia would have done it regardless of my opinion although I am more than happy to provide any assistance you might need. Nakia genuinely enjoyed spending time with MJ last summer and was more than happy to seize the opportunity to visit with her again. You can trust however that Nakia will keep her safe." He glanced over at Steve. "It appears that the briefing is starting momentarily but I did want to extend an offer to you and MJ to come spend some time in Wakanda this summer. We would love to show you our country and my sister has been dying to meet Spider-Man."

Peter nodded, "I'm sure MJ would love that." He nodded to both T'Challa and Okoye and made his way back to the rear of the room with his dad.

Steve waited for everyone else to settle down. Peter had always marveled at the ability Steve had to command attention without saying a word. He leaned against the wall next to his dad with the rest of his team standing in close proximity.

"Over the last couple months we've seen evidence of an increase in bio-engineering by a new fixer that is using a brain stem interface. We also have reason the believe that a new formula for a Super Soldier serum has been found. And then this past week we've seen evidence that a controller device has been perfected that also interfaces with the brain stem. We don't believe the fixer or the person with the controller technology are working on their own. We think they are potentially component parts of a larger plan." Steve glanced over at at Johnny, "who needs to control that much fire power. Imagine the damage that could be done if you have bio-enhanced individuals and super soldiers, both of which you can control."

Jean leaned forward in her chair next to Professor Xavier. "Hydra tried something similar a couple years ago with the Terrigen drug. Their plan was to essentially create an army of super powered mutants. Do we think Hydra is behind this?"

"No. I'd never thought I'd say this but it would be easier if it were Hydra. We feel like it's more likely that it's former Secretary of State Ross." Steve paused to let the murmurs die down. "Let me be clear. We do not have direct evidence proving his involvement but..."

"But with his recent anti-mutant rumblings it fits. He would need a super powered army to take on a group of mutants." Charles Xavier's expression was pensive. He had feared that a war was coming.

Steve nodded, "Ross has always had personal issues with anyone that has been altered. He also likes to be in control. That unfortunately puts most of the people in this room in his cross hairs."

xxxxxxxxxx

Information was distributed to all parties. The hunt for Sandhurst, their fixer, any evidence of controller tech, and anything that might link Ross to any of this was top priority. Nat hadn't had a lot of luck finding anything on her own. As much as she hated to admit defeat she welcomed the extra eyes.

Peter and Wyatt said good by to MJ, Jennifer, and Nakia in the morning. Peter hated the idea of MJ possibly being in danger and being so far away and he thought Wyatt felt the same about Jennifer. He trusted Nakia but he trusted himself more. The boys flew back to Cambridge that night and started school the next day. Everything was almost normal but they all knew it wasn't. They just weren't sure what to expect and when.


End file.
